External Flash

I am aware that there is no mount for external flash for Option 330GS, but is there ANY possible way to somehow have external flash for this camera? If yes, then which one? Thanks.

Enya,

For your information: I have a Canon S30 digital camera that also has no external flash. However, I also have other Pentax SLRs and the AF360FGZ flash gun. This flash has a built in slave feature that works very well indeed.

Before that I tried other "generic" flash guns using a little slave "cube" (a little cube that you fit the flash gun to that has a little magic eye). However, the Canon digital cameras actually fire the flash twice - once to get the white balance, and the second for the real shot. This proved a disaster with normal flash guns since they would fire all their energy on the preflash. The AF360FGZ does not do that and works well with the preflash. But then, you might find the price of that flash rather high!!

My best advice is to find a friend who has a standard flash gun and one of these little cubes and try your Pentax out. If the Optio does not use a preflash then you can use almost any automatic flash gun. There's even a neat little folding one with built in slave sensor sold through the Pentax User - the "Xtraflash". Check here: http://www.magezinepublishing.com/trolleyed/8/index.htm

Hope that helps!

Matt

I was told by some that Pentax woulnd't work properly with such external flashes, that it wouldn't know how to figure out the "exposition" correctly. Although this is claimed to be working with almost all digital cameras.

Has any of Pentax users had any experience with this?